


Season 1, Episode 2: Enlightenment

by Peaches and RAmen (Peachy00Keen)



Series: Star Trek: Babel [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek - Various Authors, Star Trek Online
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aliens, Andorians, Espionage, F/F, F/M, Gen, Human, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other, Revolution, Science, Science Fiction, Star Trek References, Star Trek: Babel, Tellarites, Terrorism, Underground
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 21,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23123989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peachy00Keen/pseuds/Peaches%20and%20RAmen
Summary: During an undercover survey of a pre-warp civilization, a public demonstration leaves the away team stranded in a perilous situation. One false move could cost the lives of all the planetside crew and violate the Prime Directive.
Series: Star Trek: Babel [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623328
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

_Captain’s Log, Stardate 48611.8: During our survey of the Yapha system, we traced a series of radio signals to the star’s fourth planet, an M-class world quite similar in size and composition to Earth, where we found evidence of a pre-warp industrial civilization. Since that discovery,_ Babel _has been hidden from view behind one of the planet’s two moons, and we have been gathering information on the local species, a humanoid race called the Moraga. The Moraga society is at a technological level similar to Earth in the middle of the twenty-first century. They lack any significant space program, but they’ve made significant advancements in industry and infrastructure. After a week of observation from orbit, I believe we’ve obtained as much information as we can without a more hands-on approach. I’ve given my First Officer permission to lead a small away team to explore the planet’s capital city and compile a full report that could someday better prepare the Federation for first contact with this civilization. If the Moraga have begun to incorporate antimatter technology into their infrastructure and power generation, then they could be just decades away from warp travel and a role in the greater galactic community._

Raj closed the log and leaned back in his chair. The ready room had been thoroughly cleaned since the events of last month at Starbase 214, but it still felt like the room was taunting him, trying to make him relive the hallucination brought on by the Strux infection. Slowly and deliberately, Raj stood up and paced the length of the room. He replicated a small pitcher of water and replenished the large fern he kept in the far corner of the room, then stopped at the wall by the door, where a series of antique weapons from cultures all across the Alpha Quadrant were on display. The lirpa had been a gift from a fellow officer on board the _Enterprise_ , and he’d won the Klingon bat’leth from a Nausicaan during shore leave only a few years after graduating the Academy. The _ushaan-tor_ that had nearly killed him less than a month ago was one of the more recent additions to his collection, and for all the damage it had done, it looked fairly unremarkable sitting next to the rest of the collection. 

He straightened his uniform and gave the room one last look before stepping out onto the bridge. With no active threats or urgent mission underway, the bridge seemed fairly empty with only Ensign Brahms at the helm, Ensign Benson at Ops, a pair of new officers at the sensor stations, and Doctor Dupont sitting to the left of the captain’s chair. The doctor looked up expectantly from her PADD when she saw the captain, and he couldn’t help but feel amused. He could hardly expect her to feel comfortable visiting him in his office given the circumstances of her last visit.

“How did the procedure go, Doctor?”

“Very well, all things considered,” she said. “Commander O’Malley, Lieutenant Barnes, and Lieutenant Caldwell will all pass as native [ Moraga](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3f/01/7d/3f017dde559b698fa101e9254ca4d707.jpg), at least as long as no one starts looking under the skin.” 

“Excellent work again, then. My compliments to you and your staff. Miss Benson, is the away team ready to beam down?”

The young ensign bit her lip nervously and hesitated before answering. “They’re, uh, already planetside, Captain.”

Raj just smiled and shook his head. _I should’ve known you’d be impatient, Commander._ “Very well then, keep me informed of any updates from the team. It should be an enlightening report.”


	2. Chapter 2

As the tingling shimmers of the transporter beam faded, Shannon blinked the remaining floaters out of her eyes and looked around the city. They’d beamed into a small park near the waterfront, in an area largely hidden from view by shrubs and trees. From where they stood, the away team could see people walking along the pier nearby, families strolling together, and observing the wharf as ships passed in and out with cargo.

The three officers stepped out from their landing area and proceeded to walk toward the pier. Jeremy squinted and blinked uncomfortably. “Are these contacts messing with anyone else’s eyes?”

“It’s not too different from wearing sunglasses, which, given the lack of shade here, is actually kind of nice,” Shannon said, looking around. “I imagine you’ll get used to them.”

As they neared the foot traffic heading toward the pier, the group hushed and listened to the conversations of passers-by. Snippets of conversation ranged from talk of what the team could only assume were local dishes to excited whispers about spaceflight.

“It seems there’s a lot of excitement about the nation’s space program,” Shannon pointed out.

“Yeah, but the way it’s spoken about seems kind of odd,” Jeremy added, absentmindedly picking at the inverted lines that embellished and framed his face. “Every other topic is spoken about at a normal conversational volume, but any time someone mentions space, they drop to a whisper.”

“Well, for such a spiritual culture to reach beyond their own world must be at least as frightening as it is exciting,” Jessica chimed in. She too had the signature Moraga swirls covering her face, courtesy of the doctor’s cosmetic alterations, as well as the opaque contact lenses that obscured her pupils. When Jeremy reached up at his face again, she swatted his hand away playfully. “And stop picking at that, would you? People are going to think you’ve got some sort of disease.”

Jeremy grimaced and shoved his hands in the pockets of his loose canvas pants to avoid further temptation. A breeze rolled in off the water. It was cool, but the scent was anything but fresh. He coughed slightly.

They followed the crowd along the waterfront, doing their best to listen for more talk of space programs and any other points of social interest. More common than hushed mentions of the space program, which, from what Shannon could gather, was a privatized organization, was talk of a “Council of Divinity.” The two topics rarely crossed in conversation, but when they did, it was often with a venomous tone.

As they continued to follow the crowd along the main walking path, they neared the main highway that nudged up against the boardwalk. Shannon nodded to the side and the group split off and followed a tangential group toward the city. Most of the buildings appeared to be 50 to 60-foot skyscrapers with smaller shops and low-rises hiding in their shadows. Dominating the skyline and visible even when walking the streets between the standard high-rises were towering behemoths that must have been several hundreds of stories tall. There were only a few of them dotted around the floating city, but they towered over everything else, quite literally scraping the sky above.

The group approached a major intersection and the sound of a news broadcast drowned out the drone of conversation and traffic. Several large screens and one central holographic projection of what appeared to be some political figure dominated the space above the busy street.

 _“The Council of Divinity is expected to halt the space program, which recently announced exciting advances toward faster-than-light travel. Groups of protesters have gathered outside of Council Hall,”_ the images on the screens shifted to show a sea of people holding signs and shouting, _“to voice their opinions on the decision. Many are in opposition to the motion to halt the push toward the stars, claiming it to be the next logical step in Moraga evolution.”_

Shannon turned to Jessica and Jeremy. “We should try to find our way there.”

“How? We have no idea where it is. For all we know, it could be on the other side of the island or on a completely different one,” Jeremy said, his fingers noticeably tapping his leg in his pocket.

“Shannon to _Babel_ ,” she said, tapping her communicator, which had been fashioned into a subtle necklace, blending it into local fashion. “Can you locate the city’s Council Hall? There’s a protest going on there, and we’d like a closer look.”

 _“Sure thing, Commander,”_ the transporter chief called back. _“Would you like us to beam you there?”_

“Yes, sir.” Shannon beckoned for the group to follow her down an alley. “Three to transport, whenever you’re ready.”

Jeremy crossed his arms as blue shimmers enveloped the team, carrying them to another secluded landing area near Council Hall. Thousands of people filled the streets and nearby courtyard, many of them brandishing signs, and almost all of them shouting. He uncrossed his arms and stared in awe.

“Well, looks like we found the party.”


	3. Chapter 3

Jessica took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the transporter before looking around at the scene in front of them. Council Hall was an incredibly humble name for such a grand structure. The large marble dome must have been nearly a kilometer in diameter, and the blue spirals of the Church logo that covered the surface of the building were roughly a hundred meters high themselves. As the protestors gathered outside, hovering drones circled overhead like birds of prey, waiting to strike. Armed officers of the Church Authority kept a tight perimeter around the crowd, and Jessica noted that they were equally ready to prevent the crowd from entering the building _or_ leaving the square. _They expect this to be bloody_ , she thought with a grimace. She slipped her hand into the pocket of the brown jacket she wore and kept a thumb on the emergency beam-out signal that would bring the entire away team immediately back to _Babel_ if and when things went wrong. 

“Commander, I don’t think we should be this close. It isn’t safe for us to be here.”

“I don’t see how else we’re supposed to observe what’s going on. In a society like this, the news reports are likely to give an incomplete story.” Shannon looked around and pointed toward the edge of the gathering. “If we stick to the outskirts, we can make a quick escape if we need to.”

“If you insist, Commander, then we’ll stay,” Jessica replied. “But I’m not letting you get anywhere near the heart of that crowd.”

The away team worked their way around the edges of the crowd, taking note of the growing agitation of pro-spaceflight protesters. Competing with the noise of the crowd was the equally loud voice being projected from the series of police drones overhead. On the large screen directly above the main entrance of Council Hall, a man in deep blue robes spoke to the crowd.

_“Please cease your demonstration immediately and turn yourselves over to the Church Authority. The Council of Divinity will meditate on these recent developments and do as is prescribed by the will of the Creator. That will is not ours to question, but to obey. As told in the Book of Angels, ‘lean not upon your own understanding, for ignorance is well and truly blessed.’ Trust only in Our guidance, and all will turn out for the best.”_

The crowd had given up on listening long ago, save for those still hesitant on the edges, who seemed less willing to participate as the majority of the protesters turned angry. As they continued toward a nearby side street, Jessica saw a woman with a young child, no older than twelve, judging by human appearances, pleading with an officer to let them pass. From the man’s body language and the rifle held at the ready, their odds of escaping before a riot broke out didn’t look good.

“Please,” the woman begged. “We’re not part of the protest. I just want to get my son home!” 

“I’m sorry, ma’am. No one is allowed to leave until the Council has reached its judgment on how to handle this assembly. I suggest you pray for understanding and forgiveness and set an example for your child.” 

As the argument continued, the officer’s partner turned toward Jessica and the away team.

“Halt! No one is allowed to leave the assembly. Please remain where you are until we are ready to process you.”

Jessica’s shoulders tensed, and she braced herself to take down the pair of officers quickly, but Shannon put a hand on her shoulder and stepped forward instead. She started to speak, but before she could say anything, a bright flash flared from behind them at the center of the crowd followed by a deafening blast. Jessica felt herself hit the ground and instinctively tucked into a roll that kept her head from bouncing on the hard pavement. She found herself on her back, staring up at one of the large towers that stood to either side of Council Hall when she noticed that the tower was falling. As rubble rained down on all sides, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head, and all went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Shannon reacted a moment too slowly as Jessica slipped off into the crowd, reaching out and grabbing nothing but empty air. A low rumble penetrated the square, and as everyone turned to watch in horror as one of the two massive towers flanking the central Council Hall building began falling in toward the crowd. Frozen in place, Shannon felt a hand grip her upper arm and drag her out of the way as rubble began to rain down over the crowd. Her legs moved to follow the tug, following Jeremy as he barreled through the throngs of fleeing citizens, clearing a path for them both.

“We can’t just leave her there!” Shannon cried, but the man charged onward. “Jeremy! We have to go back for her!” He stopped abruptly, and the commander crashed into his arm as he turned to face her.

“If we go in there after her, we’re just as likely to end up crushed under the falling rock,” he growled. “This place is swarming with Church Authority guards.”

Taking Shannon by the arm again, he led them both a safe distance away from the chaos and ducked behind a bench. His communicator had been incorporated into a watch-like device that he wore on his wrist. Jeremy lifted his wrist and tapped the face of the device. “Caldwell to _Babel_ , get me a trace on Barnes’ signal. There was an explosion and she got separated from the group.”

During the pause that followed his request, Shannon rubbed her arm where Jeremy’s hand had been. It was red, not bad enough to leave a bruise, but certainly enough to leave a mark. She looked up and observed him as his eyes flicked around the area defensively, looking for any potential threats. For someone who, up until now, had been so laid-back that Shannon wondered whether or not he even took his job seriously, this was certainly a jarring shift in demeanor.

“Caldwell to _Babel_. _Babel_ , come in.” Another bout of silence followed the call. Jeremy lowered his wrist. “Dammit!”

“Hey! You two, by the benches!” A gruff voice called out from somewhere nearby. Shannon and Jeremy looked up to see a small group of Church Authority guards running toward them, weapons drawn. “Surrender yourselves to the Church Authority or be taken in by force.”

Shannon’s feet turned as she moved instinctively to bolt, but once again, Jeremy took her by the arm. He whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “we don’t know what kind of stun technology that is _if_ it’s stun technology. If we surrender ourselves, we don’t have to find out the hard way.” He let go of her arm and put his hands up. “We’ll come peacefully.”

Following his lead, Shannon also put her hands in the air. “We were merely spectating. We only wanted to see what was going on.”

The group of guards split in half, leaving two to handle the commander and the lieutenant. The guards placed their hands in restraints and walked behind them, leading them back toward the square. “Regardless of your intentions, anyone found in or around this zone is to be held for questioning. Tensions are too high for the Council to risk the escape of any citizens who could be involved with any of the resistance groups.”

Neither of them wanting to say the wrong thing, Shannon and Jeremy walked the rest of the way in silence as the guards led them to a gathering of official vehicles that resembled twenty-second-century police cars. They were escorted into the backseat of one of the vehicles, and the doors were closed behind them. From what Shannon could see, there were no handles present on the inside of the door. She looked to Jeremy, who seemed to be noticing the same thing.

“I guess we have the right to remain silent,” she said quietly.

He nodded in return, “and I think it would be wise if we exercised that right for as long as they let us.”

“We should have a plan. If our stories don’t corroborate, they’ll know something is up.”

“We’ll run with what we’ve already told them: We were spectators, devoted to the Church. We just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The driver’s door opened and a uniformed Moraga male slid into the seat. A female opened the passenger door and sat down next to him. Neither one said anything to their backseat passengers. They started the car and drove through the crowd, colorful lights reflecting off of the people and vehicles around them. On either side, Shannon could see droves of people being herded into police vans. _I guess that’s where we would have ended up if we’d been with the rest of the crowd. If that’s the case, maybe it’s better that we ended up in a patrol car._

“We’ve been informed that the two of you claimed to be sympathetic to the Church,” said the driver. “We will be taking you to answer with the others before a subsection of the Council. If what you said is true, you should have nothing to worry about.”

Shannon felt a chill run down her spine as she continued to say nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Jessica woke to the acrid smell of smoke as the world around her burned. She coughed violently to clear the smoke from her lungs and wiped the sleeve of her jacket against her mouth, leaving a small stain of blood. She tried to sit up, only to find she was pinned underneath what was at one point a section of an interior wall. Groaning, she pushed hard against the rubble and managed to free her right arm from under her. She tapped her communicator, fashioned into a cuff on her right ear, only to get no signal in response. 

“Damn,” she spat at nobody in particular, resting for a moment to regain her strength. With a heave, she levered the section of wall up just enough to get her legs free. She pulled herself out from under the wreckage in a series of short spurts, and when she finally freed herself, she slumped back to the ground, panting. Her ears were still ringing from the explosion, and she felt lightheaded if she even tried to sit all the way up, let alone stand. She rolled over to her other side to get up, and suddenly found herself face to face with the corpse of a woman, her lower half crushed completely by another chunk of debris that had only missed Jessica by a meter or two. The woman’s eyes bulged and her limp hand was outstretched as if to reach for help. With a start, Jessica realized she’d seen the woman before, pleading with the guards to let her and her son go. _Oh please, no,_ she thought as she started to tear through the wreckage, searching for any sign that the poor child hadn’t met the same fate as his mother.

“Come on, damn it,” she cried several minutes later as she pulled yet another chunk of stone free. “Kid, if you can hear me, say something!” There was no response. She kept digging forgetting entirely about the mission she’d been sent on until she heard a small voice nearby.

“Mommy, is that you?” Jessica felt her blood freeze and a lump formed in her throat. 

“No... your mommy isn’t here right now, but I can help you. Where are you?” The boy coughed in response, and Jessica shifted to follow the noise. She pulled up more of the wreckage and saw a small, bloody hand reaching up at her. With the added rush of adrenaline and desperation adding to her strength, she grabbed the hand and pulled, helping to clear more debris with her other hand. With slow, agonizing progress, she pulled the boy out to safety. He had cuts and scrapes all over his arms from shielding himself from the falling debris but was remarkably unharmed. As soon as he was out, Jessica wrapped her arms around the boy.

“It’s ok,” she said as softly as she could manage. “I’ve got you, it’s ok.”

“Where’s mommy?” the boy asked, and she couldn’t keep the tears from running down her face. 

“She’s... she’s...” Jessica trailed off helplessly. _I can’t just lie to him, but how can I tell this boy his mother is dead?_ She took a ragged, unsteady breath. 

“You shouldn’t cry, Miss.”

Jessica stopped and looked down at the boy in confusion. Sure enough, despite everything that had just happened, there were no tears on his face. He frowned at her, and the ridges above his eyes deepened in what she imagined was supposed to be a stern look. 

“What?”

“My mommy always says not to cry when I get hurt because then the angels won’t come to make it better.”

“I...” She didn’t know what to say. _He doesn’t understand any of this. He’s so young... Oh, what do I do?_

“My name’s Callum,” he said, still looking up at her with bright innocent eyes. “What’s yours?”

“Jessica,” she managed.

“That’s a funny name,” he said. Then, with a frown, he looked around at the rubble they were still sitting in. “What happened?”

“I’m not sure, but we can’t stay here. We need to get you home. Do you know where you live?”

“Umm...” Callum stared at his feet but didn’t say anything else. _Come on, Jessica, you know what you have to do._

“Just stay right there,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” 

He nodded, and Jessica turned to make her way back to where she woke up, climbing over the wreckage and back to the body of the boy’s mother. She hesitated, then shook her head and started to pull the woman out from under the wall that had killed her. _You’ve seen bodies before. Don’t panic over this one,_ she told herself, trying to keep her breakfast down. Eventually, she pulled the body free enough to start searching through her pockets. Her coat was empty, but eventually, Jessica found what looked like a thin wallet in the woman’s blood-soaked pants. She opened it up to find a single plastic card with the name Jirala M’daren, along with a string of numbers and what looked like an address. 

Gral District, Building 649, Level Four, Block Eleven

 _This must be where they live._ Tucking the wallet in her tattered jacket pocket, she scrambled back to find Callum sitting with his knees held tight against his chest, tears running down his face. 

“It’s alright, I’m back,” she said, rushing to his side. “I think I know where we can go to find your family, ok?”

Callum looked up at her with panic in his hazy grey eyes. “I got scared,” he said shakily. “You’re not going to leave me, are you? I don’t want to be alone.”

Jessica held the boy close in her arms. “No, Callum, I won’t leave you. I promise.”


	6. Chapter 6

The patrol car pulled up next to a spired building with a squat front entrance. The guards got out of the vehicle and opened the doors for Shannon and Jeremy, each taking one of them out and guiding them by the arm toward the station.

Inside, the lobby branched off into three sections. Straight ahead was a standard-looking police station, complete with a reception area and offices, to the left was the jail, and to the right was a chapel. _A chapel? I guess these people don’t even pretend to subscribe to the idea of separation of Church and State._

“This way,” one of the guards said, leading the two of them toward the jail, where they opened an empty cell and pushed Shannon inside. She watched as they walked off with Jeremy and disappeared around a corner.

She stood at the bars, listening until she couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore. With a sigh, she turned around and headed for one of the beds, where she sat down, her hands still cuffed behind her back.

Getting captured had put them in quite the predicament. If they told the truth during the interrogation, it could not only jeopardize the fragile state of the country, which was already teetering on the fence between faith and the final frontier, but it would directly violate the Prime Directive. On the other hand, if they lied and were taken in as suspected rabble-rousers, their mission would be forfeit as long as their communications with _Babel_ were down. Outside of matters taking place in the jail, there was the issue of Jessica’s absence. Without any way to contact her, there was no telling whether or not she had made it out of the blast zone alive or if she had been captured as well during her escape.

Shannon sighed and leaned back on her hands, staring up at the ceiling. In a split second, the situation had become incredibly tense and difficult to navigate. No matter what she did, she risked blowing their cover and violating Starfleet’s number one rule. Observation missions like this one were always risky, but rarely did things go so wrong so quickly.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew her attention away from her internal struggle as she looked up to see Jeremy and the guards approaching her cell. One of the uniformed officers unlocked her door and guided her science officer inside while the other gestured for her to take his place. Obediently, she stood up and approached the doorway, making eye contact with Jeremy as she did, hoping for any hint of what had happened. Their split-second glance told her nothing, and she was forced to follow the guards down the hallway and away from the cell.

They led her to a small room off of a nearby corridor. Inside was a desk with chairs on either side. One of the guards led her to the far side and clipped her cuffs to the table as the other took a seat opposite her.

“First things first, are you carrying any identification on you?” the seated guard asked.

Shannon shook her head. “No, sir, though you are welcome to search me if you’d like.”

“That will not be necessary at this time,” he said flatly. “What is your name?”

“Sha-” she stopped herself as she realized her name would sound unusual. On the fly, she did her best to adapt it into something that sounded more naturally Moraga. “Shalinn T-” she stammered, “T’Lok”

The guard raised a thin eyebrow. “Any relation to Councilman T’Lok?”

 _Shit_. “No, sir, though I do get asked that often.”

“I see.” He made a note on the PADD-like device in front of him. “Where do you live?”

Her mind scrambled to recall street names. “317 Rimm... Corridor.” _I think that was what the street had been called, and I assume that’s what “corr” had been short for._

“Floor and block number?”

“Seven, block sixteen.”

The guard said nothing as he continued to take notes.

“You mentioned that you had been observing the protests but not participating, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Did you have any intentions of counter-protesting?”

Shannon hesitated again. “No, I had been passing by and the crowd piqued my interest. I was merely curious, that’s all.”

“Did you find the answers you were seeking?”

She hadn’t been expecting that question. “Well, I suppose so, in a way. I just wanted to know what they were saying.”

The silence that followed her response was stifling. The guard took notes for several minutes before closing the cover of the device. “That will be all for now.” He looked to the other guard, who had been standing just behind Shannon’s right shoulder. “Bring her back to their cell while the report is filed.”

The female guard behind Shannon stepped forward and unhooked her from the table before guiding her out of the room, leaving the other guard behind to finish whatever he had been doing on the PADD. They walked back to the cell where Jeremy had taken up post on the bed, seated in a similar position to hers when he’d arrived, leaning back and staring blankly at the ceiling. He looked over as the guard unlocked the cell and gently pushed Shannon inside, closing and locking the door behind her.

Once the guard had rounded the far corner again, Shannon sat down beside Jeremy on the stiff bottom bunk.

“What did you say?”

“I lied,” he said quietly, returning his gaze to the ceiling, sounding more disappointed in himself than anything else. “It’s not like they would have believed the truth anyway. At least this way, there’s a nonzero chance that they won’t immediately throw me in front of the firing squad.” He turned his head to look at Shannon. “What about you?”

“I did the same thing. The guard taking notes didn’t seem too impressed by my improvisation, though. I’m almost certain I tipped them off.”

Jeremy shrugged. “I suppose at this point we just wait and see. If they’re holding us in the same cell, it can’t be that bad, right?”

“Those are famous last words, Lieutenant,” Shannon said, shaking her head, “but I hope you’re right.”


	7. Chapter 7

The viewscreen was still tracking the crowd gathered in the square outside of Council Hall when suddenly the entire screen went white. Raj leaned forward in his chair, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. As the bright flash receded, the scene he saw chilled him to the bone. A large blast crater took up nearly the entire square, and one of the two large towers adjacent to the domed Hall had collapsed completely, spilling debris for kilometers and smashing through more nearby buildings. The view being broadcast from a local satellite they’d hijacked for a visual signal didn’t show enough detail for him to make out individual bodies, but the scale of the carnage was enough to paint a terrifying picture.

“Miss Benson, what the hell just happened down there?” he barked at the young woman at Ops. “Do you have any sign of the away team?”

“Sensors are reading an antimatter detonation at the center of the square, Captain,” the woman replied, clearly as worried as he was. “I can’t find the away team, but the amount of theta radiation put off by the explosion is making anything more than basic spectrography impossible. If... if they are alive down there, we won’t be able to find them until the radiation clears, they get far enough away from it for us to get a signal, or they get themselves a pattern enhancer.”

“Rest assured, Ensign, they’re alive down there.” _They have to be._ Raj tapped his combadge and stood from the chair. “Bridge to Lieutenant Naazt. We have an away team planetside that we can’t track through a cloud of theta radiation. Get a team together and find me a solution.”

 _“Aye, sir. We’re on it,”_ came the Tellarite’s reply. Raj turned to face Doctor Dupont, who had remained on the bridge since the mission started.

“Doctor, what exactly are our people facing down there?”

Clara’s face was grim. “Theta radiation is extremely toxic in large doses. In the short term, the symptoms are fairly standard: fatigue and nausea will begin to manifest within four to six hours. It’s simple to treat, but if they don’t get treatment, eventually the radiation will lead to hallucinations, cellular degradation, and eventually death. If you want them to continue to lead full lives, I’d suggest you get them back as soon as you can.”

“Understood. Doctor, have your team prepare whatever you need to treat them.” She nodded and turned toward the turbolift. Raj turned back to face the rest of his bridge crew, who were looking to him anxiously for direction. “In the meantime, I want nonstop scans of the surface. Look for ways to get through the radiation, any human life signs you can find, or anything else that seems out of the ordinary. I don’t want us to miss an opportunity because we aren’t paying attention. I want someone tapping into local broadcasts, both public and military. If anyone sees anything that can point us to where our people are, I want to hear it. Any questions?”


	8. Chapter 8

Jessica led Callum by the hand down a large street, mostly empty due to the chaos surrounding the explosion and subsequent fall of what she had heard called the Eastern Tower. In most civilizations, the first thing Jessica would expect in response to such a large tragedy would be a rush of paramedics, crisis engineering teams, and security to keep the encroaching civilian population safe and out of the way. Here, what she saw subverted all expectations. What she assumed were construction and demolition experts worked with the Church Authority officers to assess the damage, but nobody was picking through the debris searching for survivors. When injured civilians did appear from the wreckage, it was those officers, rather than paramedics, that were first on the scene, quickly apprehending the survivors and packing them into ground vehicles with the Authority crest emblazoned on the side. Jessica knew enough to know that she didn’t want to end up in one of those vehicles, with or without the young child at her side. Keeping out of sight, she led the boy past a small patrol of armed officers and through a side alley, taking her outside of the official perimeter and hopefully to safety. 

“Hey,” she said, squeezing the boy’s hand. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay,” he said quietly, still looking straight ahead.

Jessica frowned and gave his hand another reassuring squeeze. He was clearly in shock, and she knew that, at some subconscious level, he knew that his mother wasn’t coming back for him. _Damn it, I’m a security chief, not a counselor,_ she thought. _I don’t know what to do other than get him away from this nightmare and hopefully back home where someone can take care of him._ She set a determined pace, and kept walking, hoping to get far enough away from the scene that she could safely ask for directions.

“You there, stop!” came a shout, and Jessica’s heart skipped a beat. _Relax,_ she thought as she turned to face the Church Authority officer. His weapon, which somewhat resembled an old twenty-first century Earth ballistic weapon, was safely in its holster at his hip. That didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous, though, and she immediately began planning out ways of disarming and incapacitating him if the situation came to violence.

“I’m sorry, officer,” she started. “We’re just trying to get home, and stay away from all of this.”

“I understand, ma’am, but I’ll still need to see some identification and ask a few questions.”

“Of course.” Grateful that the identification card she took from Callum’s mother had no picture, she pulled out the thin wallet and handed the card over to the stern-looking man. He looked it over and ran it through some sort of scanner before turning back to her.

“What’s your name?”

“Jirala,” Jessica answered, thankful that she’d taken the time to look over the card, instead of just pocketing it.

“Family name?” the man asked, this time more forcefully.

“M’daran,” she said. “Jirala M’daran. This here is Callum. He’s a little distraught over all of this.”

“Where are you heading?” He asked, handing her the identification card. He didn’t seem concerned at all about the boy’s current emotional state.

“Just heading home,” Jessica replied, more anxious than ever to get away.

“To Gral District?”

“Yes, to Gral District.” As soon as she said the words, she knew that she’d made a mistake.

“Ma’am, Gral District is that way,” he said, pointing the opposite direction from where they’d been walking. “Where are you really heading?”

“I, uh,” she started, stepping between the officer and Callum. The man started to reach for his weapon when another man’s voice joined them.

“Jirala! There you two are!” Jessica turned, and though she didn’t recognize the man walking up to her, she did recognize the urgency in his face and the subtle expression that seemed to say “follow my lead.” 

“I’m sorry we’re late,” she said. “We got stopped while we were looking for you. What happened?”

“I just had to move the car to make room for the Authority to set their perimeter,” the newcomer said. He turned to face the officer. “Is there a problem, sir?”

The officer lowered his hand from the holster and noticeably relaxed. “No, just a routine check. Please, head home quickly and keep away from the Council District until further notice.”

“Understood, officer.” 

The man took Jessica’s hand forcefully and led her and Callum down the length of a city block, gesturing for them to be silent. When they reached a black civilian ground vehicle, he opened the rear passenger door.

“Get in.”

“Who are you?” she asked. “I appreciate your help, but I’m not getting in that car until you give me some answers.”

The man opened his coat and pulled a small pistol from an inside pocket, leveling it at her. “I don’t think so. Get in now, and we’ll talk later, where it’s safe.” At the sight of the gun, Callum clung harder to her hip, burying his face in her jacket. She held him tight with one arm, and let out a sigh.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way. Come on, sweetie, let’s get in the car.” The boy hesitantly entered the vehicle, with Jessica right behind him. They were alone in the rear seats, but another stoic looking man sat in the front passenger seat, keeping an eye on them while their new mystery colleague entered the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

The car rumbled and bounced slightly as the wheels turned, taking them away from the site of the explosion and the center of the city. After what felt like hours, but was in all likelihood only minutes, the driver broke the tension.

“All right, I’ll make you a deal. You answer a question of mine, and I’ll answer one of yours. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like I don’t have an option, but fine, it’s a deal. That was your question, so now it’s my turn. Who are you?”

The man laughed. “Aren’t you the clever type? Fine, I’ll let that one slide. My name is Jakal, and I’m with the Resistance. Now, let’s try this again. I know you’re not Jirala M’daran, but you have her documentation and you’re using her name. Who are you?”

Jessica sat for a moment in silence. She knew she couldn’t tell the man anything about Starfleet or the Federation, but she had to keep her story close enough to the truth that it would seem real. She’d also already told Callum her real name, so she couldn’t risk a fake one if the boy slipped up.

“My name is Jessica. I was in the square when the explosion happened, taking notes on the protest. I’ve been following the space program, trying to get an objective understanding of what’s going on.”

“What, are you some type of reporter? Or maybe you’re a spy for the Council, and we should put an end to you now?”

“Don’t I get a question now? And no, I’m no spy. I have no interest in reporting you to the Council. Where are you taking me?”

“Where else? You said yourself that you were in the square to observe what happened. Now you’ll get to share your observations at Resistance HQ.”


	9. Chapter 9

The light of day had begun to wane outside their tiny cell window. Jeremy had resigned himself to the bottom bunk, where he lay staring up at the ceiling, his now-unbound hands behind his head. One of the prison guards had come by shortly after the interrogations and had both of them back up to the bars to have their cuffs removed. Shannon had taken to pacing the length of the cell, gesturing through her thoughts as she moved back and forth across the far wall. Jeremy occasionally turned his head to watch her. Despite the gears churning in both of their heads, the pair had said very little to one another since their return from the initial interrogation room. They had paused from time to time to look out into the block as guards brought new prisoners into the wing. After the second detainee arrived, several hours after they’d been settled, Shannon began to wonder.

_For all the people and all the official vehicles at the site of the disaster, there have been surprisingly few individuals brought here with us. I saw them packing up a whole van full of people in handcuffs, but none of them have walked through those doors. Something isn’t right._

Circling wide on her next return sweep of the cell, Shannon walked over to the bed and leaned against the leg of the bunk closest to Jeremy’s head. He diverted his glance from the underside of the overhead mattress and looked at her.

“Has it struck you as odd that we have very little company here?”

Jeremy furrowed his brows and sat up. “I can’t say I’ve really thought about it. Why?”

“When we were taken into custody back in the Square, I saw members of the Church Authority loading people into police vans by the dozen. Where did they all go?” She sat down next to him on the bed and lowered her already-quiet voice even further. “They brought us here in a separate vehicle, and only two others have walked through the cellblock doors since we arrived. Something tells me that this isn’t a routine detention and that this isn’t your average prison.”

“Routine or not, it isn’t as if we have much of a choice but to play along. Telling them the truth, even if it didn’t violate the Prime Directive, would only make them more suspicious of us, and we have no way to get a signal back to the ship.”

Shannon fiddled with her necklace absentmindedly. “Maybe not, but,” she picked it up and looked at the communicator, which had been keenly disguised as a fashionable pendant. “If we can set our communicators to transmit a constant homing signal, there’s a chance they might pick us up whenever Naazt and his team get comms back online.”

Jeremy looked at his watch and fiddled with the dials and the face, triggering the emergency homing signal. “If this doesn’t work,” he said, setting his hands back in his lap, “there’s no saying how long we’ll be here.”

“This is a risk every Starfleet officer takes when they embark on a surveillance mission like this. There’s always the chance that retrieval is impossible for a time, for whatever reason. We’ve got a capable crew in orbit, and we just have to trust that they’ll pull us out of here as soon as they can. In the meantime, the best we can really do is get comfy and try not to get any deeper into trouble than we already are.”

A loud bang against the cell bars startled both of them. An angry-looking man stood out in the hall, arms crossed and a baton clutched in one hand. “Shalinn T’Lok.” He held out a pair of cuffs and grunted as he pointed at the ground in front of where he stood.

Shannon gave Jeremy a concerned glance as she rose obediently and walked over to the front of the cell, turning around and presenting her wrists.

“No. Face forward. Hands in front.”

Redoubling the look she’d just given her crewmember, Shannon turned around without a word and held her arms between two of the bars, wrists together. The guard clipped the cuffs on and pressed a button. Shannon felt the hair on her arms stand up as electricity coursed through the new set of handcuffs around her wrists. She did her best to maintain steady breaths as her heart began to race and the fight or flight instinct threatened to kick in.

The stern guard opened the door and took her by the arm, pulling her into the hallway before slamming the door shut again and locking it behind her. He turned her around and held up a tiny remote. “Any resistance or sign of struggle and I’ll press this button. The shock will be small at first, but each one will be stronger than the next.” He leaned in with foul breath. “I suggest you behave.”

He turned her around and pushed her into motion, leading her from a half-pace behind down the hallway and out of sight, past the room she’d been taken into before. They passed through a series of sound-proof doors and down a short flight of stairs to what she could only describe as a sort of subterranean bunker. The air was cold, clammy, and stale, and the room itself was laminated with sterile white tiles on the walls and floor. A long mirror ran the length of one wall, and in the middle of the room, a steel table with a chair on either side sat beneath a bright white light.

The guard took Shannon over to the chair on the near side of the table and sat her down with her back to the door. He secured her handcuffs to a loop on the surface, placing the remote across from her, out of reach. He exited the room without a word, leaving Shannon in total, deafening silence.

A few minutes later, another man entered, dressed head to toe in white, and sat down in the seat across from Shannon. He was an older man, with a thin, greying beard and cold blue eyes. He carried with him a small PADD-like device which he examined briefly before looking up at her.

“You must be the new arrival, caught at the site of the attack.”

“That’s right,” Shannon replied clearly.

“You’re awfully calm for someone speaking with the High Inquisitor.”

Shannon opened her mouth and closed it again. Internally, she was shaking like a leaf, but one thing she had learned to do fairly well over the years was contain her panic. She looked up and met the man’s eyes, instantly regretting the action as she cast her gaze back down to where her handcuffs were secured to the table. “I’m not sure I know what else to be other than present… Sir?” Shannon hesitated briefly before uttering the title. She had no idea how she was supposed to address a High Inquisitor. Her gut instinct said “Your Honor,” but if that turned out to be the wrong answer, she feared it could land her in a world of hurt. _The old fallbacks rarely fail, and politeness usually isn’t punished. Then again, this is a completely different playing field._

The man grimaced, though she couldn’t be sure if it was at her response, her current status as a suspect, or if he just liked grimacing. He looked down at his notes again, then looked up and began to question her.

“Why were you with the crowd at Council Hall?”

“I was curious about the gathering. I happened to be passing through the area and wanted to see it for myself. I had no intention of joining in or starting a counter-protest.”

“You had no intention of opposing those who would seek to defile our Church, violate our sacred traditions, and turn their backs on the Divine?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I had no intention of involving myself, a single person, in a riotous public mob, no. That seems unwise to me.” Shannon decided to take a chance with her next statement. “Is it not better to serve the Divine day by day in ongoing devotion than to squander what I can give in a single act of ill-fated protest?”

“Tell me, then, if you were so intent on standing back and watching. What did you see at the square today?”

 _Well, that’s a loaded question._ “I arrived late, not long before the explosion,” she began, making a point to be as objective as possible in her analysis. “I saw many people, most holding signs. They were protesting the Council’s motion to halt the space program.” Shannon thought about what the newscaster had said. “Some of the people were shouting about evolution. There were news drones overhead. Then there was an explosion that took down the tower. I ran for cover when I saw it starting to fall. Then I got picked up by the Church Authority and brought here.”

The Inquisitor took down notes as she spoke, occasionally nodding or frowning at her comments. “That’s an interesting take on how things went,” he said. “Where did the explosion come from? Did you see who set it off?”

“It came from the eastern tower of Council Hall.” She shook her head. “I didn’t see who set it off, though. I was too far back and at the fringes of the crowd. It’s the only reason I was able to make it to safety in the first place.”

“Or perhaps you knew that you needed to be far from the center of the explosion?”

Shannon shook her head. “If I’d known that,” she caught herself just in time. _“I wouldn’t have lost a good friend in the aftermath.”_ Shannon sighed. “I can see why that would be an element of suspicion, assuming I was with whoever set it off. If I had known that the tower was going to fall, I wouldn’t have put myself on the side of the crowd onto which the tower was going to collapse, and I likely wouldn’t have even been anywhere near that part of the district. I would almost certainly already have known what was going on and not felt the need to be there to listen to what the protestors and their signs had to say.”

“Such an... analytical response. It covers every possible angle, to the point that it’s obviously rehearsed. Tell me dear, who else was part of your little cell that dared to attack our most holy site?”

“You asked for answers, so I’ve done my best to give them to you. If you believe nothing else I tell you then at least believe that it would tear me apart to even consider doing harm to any of the holy sites, in this city or anywhere else.” She shook her head pleadingly. “I would never want to instigate violence like that.”

The Inquisitor shook his head and pressed a button on the small remote that had been left on the table by the guard. Pain shot up Shannon’s arms from the cuffs on her wrists, and she let out a quick shout before clamping her mouth shut. 

“As I’m sure the guard told you on your way here, Miss T’Lok, each shock will be worse than the last. I only want the truth, so that all Moraga may be made whole again. You conspired with the Resistance to attack our Council Hall. How was it done, and by whom? Where are your rebel leaders?”

Shannon coughed a few times as she tried to catch her breath. “I don’t know how it was done. It was some kind of explosive. Something powerful if it was able to take out a whole tower. I didn’t see it, so my guess would be as good as yours.” She coughed again. “As for who did it, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I don’t know anyone in any resistance cell.”

“Not good enough, Miss T’Lok. Not good enough.” He pressed the button again, and electrifying pain enveloped Shannon a second time. _This is going to be a long night_ , she thought through gritted teeth, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Night had long since fallen before the stern-looking guard from earlier returned. With the help of a second guard, they hauled Shannon’s body down the corridor, her toes dragging along the floor between them. The bulkier of the two guards supported her weight while the other uncuffed her and unlocked the cell door.

Jeremy ran over to catch her as they pushed Shannon’s weak body unceremoniously into the cell and resecured the lock. He checked first to make sure that she was breathing and still had a pulse. Her breaths were shallow and ragged and her heartbeat was slow, but she was still alive. He put an arm behind her knees and picked her up, carrying her over to the bottom bunk and laying her down, doing his best to make her as comfortable as possible on the hard, barren prison bed. Jeremy knelt down beside her and brushed several wayward strands of hair out of her face.

“What did they do to you down there?”


	11. Chapter 11

With his team gathered around the Master Systems Display, the large computer console in the center of Main Engineering, Naazt typed an instruction into the console and watched as a small map of the Moraga homeworld’s largest city appeared on the screen. Covering most of the map was a hazy green overlay, meant to represent the spread of theta radiation from the center of the explosion. A series of readings updating continuously from the ship’s sensor grid covered the remaining space on the MSD, with additional readings, test results, and further work in progress covered the displays on the room’s walls behind them. 

“Alright, listen up, you lot. As you can see here, the radiation is spreading at a steady rate, and our sensors are losing definition linearly with the concentration of the radiation. Johnson, what is our problem statement?”

A dark-haired man answered from across the table. “We need to find a way to improve sensor penetration through the theta radiation, sir.”

“Wrong!” Naazt snorted. “Anyone else?”

“We could try to find a way to speed up the dispersal of the radiation,” came a voice from the back.

“Wrong again!” Naazt shouted, this time stamping a hoof in frustration. “You’re looking for solutions when you haven’t defined the problem yet. Last chance, what’s the problem we’re trying to solve? Thriss, what about you?”

The young Andorian woman pulled her face out of a PADD and gave the team a quizzical look. “We have three crew members on the surface exposed to theta radiation, and we need to save them.”

Naazt smiled. “Very good, Ensign. Yes, we should look into getting through the radiation, or maybe dispersing it, but the key problem is that our people are going to get sick and die if we don’t help them. We need to look at this from every angle. Can we find a way to find them and beam them out? If we can’t, can we beam medical supplies to them? We don’t even know that the transporter is going to be part of the solution. Now, I want you to split into three teams. Lieutenant Johnson, I want your team to work on the sensor angle. See if you can find a way to increase the resolution or bypass the interference from the radiation.”

“Aye, sir,” the man said and began selecting people for his team.

“Thriss, I want you to lead a team to focus on neutralizing the effect of the radiation on our other systems. Focus on shielding and power flow.”

“I don’t understand, sir. We don’t expect the radiation to reach orbit, let alone out here to the planet’s moons.”

Naazt shook his head at her. “You aren’t thinking ahead, Ensign. For your project, the radiation isn’t coming to us. We’re coming to it.”

“And what will you be working on, sir?” the woman asked.

“I’ll show you all once I’ve determined that it’s feasible. Before that though, I need all the data we have on the Moraga orbital satellite network, a spare collimator, an induction stabilizer, and a bowl of engine room stew. I’ll be in Shuttlebay One. Any questions? No? Good, get moving, you louts!”

Naazt allowed himself a quick smile as the team scattered to start working. He’d make real engineers out of them yet, as long as the Captain didn’t interfere.


	12. Chapter 12

Once Jeremy was certain that Shannon wasn’t about to stop breathing, he got to his feet and began pacing the cell. Whatever they’d done to her had left her with brand-like marks on both of her wrists and basic vitals that suggested her body had been pushed to its limits. Why hadn’t they taken him instead?

“Will she live?” asked a timid voice. It echoed off of the concrete walls, coming from all directions.

“She should recover, yes,” Jeremy answered with as much confidence as he could summon to back the speculative phrase. “Who are you?”

“My name is Li’im,” the voice answered. Now that they were speaking in a more settled tone, the voice sounded distinctly female. “They brought me in here earlier today, after the explosion at Council Hall. I heard they rounded up as many of the protestors as they could. Most of them were thrown directly into the sector prison. It looks like a few of us made it here instead.”

“Why separate people? There aren’t many of us in here.”

“Suspect detention,” she answered plainly. “Known leaders of rebel cells have already been dealt with. Sympathizers for the cause and those merely participating were herded like cattle to the larger detention facility. Those of us who stood out from the crowd of protestors but didn’t fit any existing profiles were brought here for questioning.”

Jeremy leaned against the wall between the foot of the bunks and the bars at the front of the cell and folded his arms across his chest. “You seem to know an awful lot about this detention process, Li’im.”

“I imagine I would. I’ve been watching from the sidelines for a while now, trying to figure out the process.”

“What went wrong this time?”

“Nothing. I’d learned all I could on the outside.”

“So you _let_ them catch you?” He let out a small scoff. “That’s rather bold. How do you plan to get out?”

“In the short-term, I don’t. The Council Authority has imprisoned hundreds of innocent civilians because they were ‘threatening the peace.’ I figured out how they got in. Now, I’m here to figure out how to get them out. A few have managed it, so I know it’s possible.”

“But you want to stage a large-scale jailbreak.”

“It would be the ideal start to a revolution, wouldn’t it?”

Jeremy had to admit that the woman had a point, as much of a gamble as her feeble-sounding plan was. “What if you don’t make it? For an infiltration operative, you are awfully forthcoming with your plan. What if someone overheard you or I decided to rat you out?”

“If you were the type to rat me out, they wouldn’t have brought you to this holding facility in the first place. You and your wife are here because they see you as a threat. They took her for questioning, hoping she’d break, and if she didn’t, that you would once they brought her back to you.” Li’im’s voice was eerily calm as she ran through the process as if reading a recipe. “As for my fate, if they catch on to me, there are others to take my place. They’ll be too high-risk to leave out in public, but too low-profile to seek out immediately. Unless the Council Authority changes their tactics and removes all suspects without questioning, there’s always a chance one of us will make it through their defenses, and as long as there’s a chance to get information out of one of us, the interrogations will continue.”

“Oh, she’s--” Jeremy glanced over to where Shannon was lying motionless on the bottom bunk and let out an uncomfortable laugh, “she’s not my wife. We’re, uh, coworkers. We happened to be passing by everything when the explosions went off.” 

“Ah, my apologies,” Li’im responded sincerely, her voice implying the most emotion it had since she’d begun speaking to Jeremy. “You two seemed rather close.”

“We’ve known one another for a long time,” he fibbed, wishing he’d never addressed the slip-up in the first place. “The workplace wouldn’t be the same without her.” _Well, at least that much is true._

“I know the feeling. I’ve lost many friends to this rebellion. It’s what drives me to succeed. No one wants to die in vain.”

“That much, I can appreciate,” Jeremy said with a quiet, relieved sigh. “Aren’t you worried one of the guards will hear this conversation and stop you before you can make it to the next facility?”

“The guards are between shifts at the moment. They change an hour after dusk and an hour before sunrise. Surveillance is limited to visual-only. The walls, being so near a chapel, are nearly soundproof.” Jeremy could hear shoes scuffing against loose pebbles on the other side of the wall as Li’im shifted positions. “We’re just bugs in a jar.”


	13. Chapter 13

Jakal parked the car in an alley toward the edge of the city and motioned to his associate in the passenger seat. The bulky man exited the vehicle and opened the door for Jessica and Callum. Neither man spoke as they led the pair into an old brick building with covered windows. _Well, you’ve committed to this path now, Jessica,_ the woman thought to herself as she stepped through the door. _The best you can do is play along until you get a chance to get the kid out to safety._

As soon as they stepped inside, Jessica could tell the abandoned appearance of the Resistance Headquarters was merely a facade. A wall of computer consoles had busy-looking men and women scrambling left and right on one side of the building, and a full communications suite on the other was occupied by a trio of operatives, presumably communicating with distant Resistance cells desperate to know what was happening. There were guards at key areas, but not many. The Resistance was clearly a small operation, or a very loosely distributed one. Jakal led them further inside, urging them to remain quiet, but she couldn’t help but assess the rebels’ organization and be impressed at what they’d managed with so few resources. _This is a real resistance,_ she thought, catching a glimpse of a reporter covering the explosion at Council Hall as they walked past a room dedicated to watching various media broadcasts. 

They were led up the stairs past another set of guards and into a small conference room, where two Resistance members, a man and a woman, were waiting. Jakal motioned for Jessica to take a seat, which she did after getting Callum settled in the seat beside her. Jakal nodded to the bulky man that had accompanied them on the drive, and he stepped outside the room and closed the door. _So, I guess we’re stuck here for a little while._ Jessica looked at the pair of Moraga across from her expectantly.

“Is this the part where you tell me why I’m here?” she asked.

“This is Jessica. She says she’s an observer, trying to gather notes to tell the story of what’s happening around here,” interrupted Jakal. “I saw her and the boy when the Authority caught them leaving the blast zone, and she introduced herself as Jirala M’daran.”

“Interesting,” the woman said. She turned to face Jessica. “And where, girl, did you hear that name?”

 _No sense in lying about it, I suppose,_ she thought. “I saw Jirala with her son shortly before the explosion. When I came to afterward, I found her identification.”

“And Jirala?”

Jessica just shook her head. There wasn’t any need to say out loud in front of the boy what they all knew.

“A shame,” the woman said. “She was one of our best operatives. I take it this is her son, Callum?”

“That’s my name,” the boy said, speaking for the first time since before they were accosted by the Authority officer when leaving the scene of the attack. At the sound of his voice, the entire room looked startled.

“How did you know my mommy?” the boy asked.

“We, uh, we worked together,” the woman said, her face and her voice softening at his question. “Maluun, why don’t you take Callum downstairs and get him something to eat and drink. Today must have been hard on him.”

“I don’t want to leave,” the boy said, looking up at Jessica for help.

“It’s okay,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right up here, and I’ll come see you as soon as we’re done talking, alright?”

Callum nodded, and the man who’d been silent so far rose from his chair to lead him out of the room. Once the door closed behind them, the woman spoke again.

“My name is Ti’ana, and I lead this Resistance cell. If you have an account of what happened at the square, I’d be very interested to hear it.”

“Well, I didn’t get a great look from the outskirts of the crowd, but there were lots of protesters outside. The Authority set up a perimeter outside the square, but they were keeping people in, not out. That’s where I first saw Jirala, arguing with one of the guards. She was trying to leave, but they wouldn’t let her. We were close to her when the explosion happened.”

“We?” Jakal asked. “You didn’t mention anyone was with you.” 

_Damn it,_ she cursed internally. “I was with two friends, a man and a woman. We were separated when the explosion happened. I don’t know what happened to them, or even if they survived.”

“If they were among the survivors,” Ti’ana said, “then they have almost certainly been arrested by now. If they were part of the crowd and survived, then they’ve probably been rounded up and sent to a large scale detention facility outside of the city. If they were like you, though, observing the crowd...” she trailed off in thought.

“Then what?” Jessica asked. “Do you know where my friends were taken?” 

Ti’ana shared a look with Jakal before answering. “It’s possible that they were taken to Red Sector A.”

“Is that bad?”

“It’s a holding area for potentially dangerous political prisoners,” Ti’ana said. “It’s made to look like any other temporary detention area, but prisoners held there don’t return alive. One of our operatives, Li’im, was taken there this morning. We tracked her into the building, but haven’t been able to learn more.”

“We’ll need to break them out, then,” Jessica said immediately.

“Jakal, your thoughts?”

The man hesitated for a moment before answering. “I’ve been watching her since we took her in. She’s been probing at our capabilities the entire time, assessing everyone we’ve had watching her. She read our defenses immediately and took careful note of our computing and communications rooms. I’d say she’s a spy from how she read us, but that just doesn’t match the circumstances of how we found her, and she clearly cares about Jirala’s son. I don’t think she’s a danger to us, and she could be a valuable asset.”

Ti’ana nodded. “I don’t think we have the luxury of extra time anymore. Well then, it seems we have at least one common goal. I won’t ask you about your history, though I suspect it would be quite the tale to tell. As long as you help us, we’ll trust you. We’ll make sure to look out for Callum, too. His mother was a good friend. Jakal will take you downstairs and show you around, and we’ll bring you in for a briefing on the rescue operation in an hour. Welcome to the Resistance, Jessica.”


	14. Chapter 14

Renetta heard the turbolift doors open, and the Captain strolled onto the bridge. “What’s our status, Ensign?” he asked her as he took his seat.

“All of the ship’s systems are functioning within normal parameters and the engineering team’s work on sensor upgrades and transporter refits are underway. Planetside, from what we’ve been able to gather from various news broadcasts, Church Authority… forces?” she hesitated, uncertain if that was the right term, “are on the scene picking over the wreckage for survivors.” Renetta picked up a PADD at her station that she’d opened a news broadcast on and brought it over to the Captain. “Moraga news outlets imply that these Church Authority figures are some sort of police force, and there are certainly plenty of vehicles that look like twenty-second century Earth police vehicles, but I found something in the background of one of the earlier news releases.” She handed the Captain the PADD and started playback. “It looks like they’re herding protestors into police vans.” Renetta shook her head. “Something isn’t right.”

Raj took the PADD and frowned. “It seems they’d rather sweep up the problem than listen to their people. It’s not our place to judge, but it could mean trouble for the away team. What’s the status of the radiation cloud?”

“The cloud looks like it’s spread to cover the entire capital sector at this point. There’s no official death toll, but I guarantee anyone standing within about a quarter-mile of the blast died instantly. Beyond that point, they’re going to start feeling the effects of the theta radiation by morning at the latest. If I had to guess, the cloud will likely double in size before it’s done spreading. Anyone toward the outskirts of the radiation cloud will probably be fine, but the entire capital sector is extremely hot.” Renetta shook her head. “Unless we can get the away team back soon, odds don’t look good, Captain.”

Raj grimaced as he stared out the viewscreen at the planet. “Understood, Ensign. Alpha shift is dismissed, I’ll remain on the bridge with Beta shift.”

Renetta got up as her Beta shift counterpart took her place and filed into the turbolift with David and a couple of other bridge officers whose replacements had arrived. With the exception of one officer, the lot of them were headed for Deck 10.

“Are you as hungry as I am?” David asked her as the turbolift began to descend.

“I’m always up to grab a meal with you if that’s what you’re asking,” she said with a smile. “Besides, I could use some company if you don’t mind. Everything going on down at the surface has me worried.”

The turbolift came to a halt at Deck Ten, and the other officers stepped out in front of them. David gave her a reassuring smile and took her by the hand as he led her out toward Ten-Forward.

“Me too,” he said.

Renetta smiled as she felt his hand close around hers. Living onboard an active Federation starship certainly wasn’t a lonely life, but sometimes, in the middle of a crisis, it could get a bit isolating. Having the warm reassurance of someone who cared was exactly the kind of grounding she needed at the moment.

They walked into the bustling lounge and selected a table along the far wall where the noise was slightly less and talking would be easier. A member of the waitstaff came by and took their order before they were left to discuss things in private.

“An antimatter bomb is no joke,” she said, looking concerned. “Even though the detonation was a small one, the theta radiation is a much larger and more pressing issue. Plus, there’s the added complication with the news crews. If they’re peddling a false narrative, it’s going to make retrieval of our away team extremely difficult. Sensor readings are basically impossible and there’s no saying when communications will be back online. I just hope that whatever Naazt is up to with his engineering team will be enough to at least let us know they’re still alive.”

David reached across the table and picked up Renetta’s hands, which were fidgeting nervously in front of her. 

“Listen,” he started. “I’m as worried as anyone, but Commander O’Malley knows what she’s doing. Lieutenant Barnes and Lieutenant Caldwell are experienced officers, too. I’m sure that whatever is going on down there, they’re safe and in control of the situation.”

She sighed. “You’re probably right. It’s just so hard not to worry, especially-” she paused as their food arrived. “Especially not being able to see what’s going on without the shroud of the local news organizations. It just… feels wrong somehow. I don’t know.” Renetta shook her head. “Maybe I just need to go do a couple of laps and clear my head.” While she was certain that, with time and experience, she would get better at handling the tension that stemmed from situations like these, her present state of mind was little more than a series of ill-fated ‘what ifs.’

“One of these days you’re going to have to bring me along to see this pond of yours. I’ve never really skated, but I’d love to watch.”

“Oh!” she said through a bite of food, hastening to finish the mouthful. “I could teach you! I could have the replicator make you a pair of skates and we could give it a go! It’s _super_ easy once you get your footing, and you can use me for support.” She felt a shiver of excitement at the thought of being able to enjoy her program with someone else. It would bring two things together that were individually very near and dear to her. “Maybe once we get this craziness with Moraga sorted out, we can give it a shot. What do you think?”

“It’s a date, then,” he said with a smile. “How about-” Before he could finish, his combadge chirped, bringing back awkward memories of their first Ten-Forward encounter.

_“Ensign Brahms, this is Naazt. Get down to Shuttlebay One immediately. Er, please.”_

“Acknowledged, Lieutenant. I’ll be right down.” David looked up at Renetta with a mix of amusement and apology. “Next time we come here to eat, how about we throw these combadges in the replicator?”

Renetta giggled. “How about next time, we skip Ten-Forward altogether and have dinner at my place?”

David’s face flushed as he rose from the table. “Uh, yeah, that sounds great! Just say the word and I’ll be there.”

Renetta felt a little bit of heat touch her cheeks as she watched him walk off with a bounce in his step. _Well, for a moment of unexpected courage, that actually worked out pretty okay,_ she thought to herself as she rested her chin in her palm and stirred the bright orange drink in its tall fluted glass. _We probably ought to start with skating first, though._


	15. Chapter 15

Naazt set down his hyperspanner and crossed his arms to review his work. At 860 kilograms, the Type-Fifteen shuttlepod was the lightest small craft onboard _Babel_ , which made it perfect for this particular project. With a secondary deflector installed and calibrated specifically for theta radiation, it would be able to enter the upper atmosphere and locally disperse the radiation, giving the shuttlecraft’s sensors the opportunity to seek out human life signs and beam them aboard.

“That should just about do it, Chief,” Thriss said, crawling out from underneath the craft. “The new deflector should run in sync with the original. I’ve reduced the dissonance between the two to four percent. If I had another day, I think we could get it down to two percent, but-”

“But we don’t have another day, Ensign. We don’t even know if we have another hour. For all we know, some or all of the away team might be dead from the blast, the radiation, or from the angry mob on the surface. You did the best you could, as quick as you could, and now we’ll find out whether that was good enough.”

Thriss’ antennae twitched, and he followed her gaze to see the young Human pilot enter the shuttlebay. Brahms gave the shuttle a once-over before turning to Naazt.

“Ensign Brahms reporting, sir. What exactly are we doing here?”

“We’re about to go save our away team, Ensign. I figured if you weren’t taking a nap, you could join us and fly my new toy.”

Brahms’ face lit up at the mention of saving the away team. In an instant, he was circling the shuttle, taking in each modification with interest, but saying nothing, until at last, he made his way full circle and back to Naazt.

“I’m ready when you are, sir. Just two questions.”

“Go ahead, Ensign.”

“First, how are we going to avoid detection by the locals? I understand they have extensive satellite surveillance.”

Naazt nodded. “A good question. I pulled our scans of the satellite network when I started making modifications to the shuttle. There is a gap in coverage once every fourteen hours that lasts about sixty seconds. We’ll target that gap for our approach, and send out a jamming signal that should cover our exit. If they’re watching, they’ll know something went wrong, but not what, and we should be long gone by the time they’re able to undo the damage. The other question?”

David gestured to the side of the shuttle, where the original name had been crudely painted over with a new one. “What exactly is ‘Krognik’?”

Naazt smiled. _“‘And I looked upon the face of the Krognik demon, and his howl did clear a path through hellfire, as all the world burned around it.’_ It’s from Tellarite mythology, and I found it quite fitting. The Moraga may be bringing about the end of their civilization, but I’ll be damned if we don’t clear a path to safety for our people first. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the young man replied.


	16. Chapter 16

The sensation of pain leaked into the inky blackness of Shannon’s unconscious mind, invading from all corners of her body. Her joints ached, her wrists burned, her head was pounding, and her stomach felt like it had been tied into several knots. She groaned and tried to move. Her body did not hasten to respond. Starting small, Shannon coaxed her eyes open and found herself staring at the underside of the top half of the prison bunk. She drew in a deep breath. It was the least painful thing her body had been able to do until the breath caught and sent her into a coughing fit.

She pulled herself upright as she struggled to regain control over her breathing and saw Jeremy asleep at the foot of the bunk, seated on the floor with both arms and his head resting on the mattress. Her spasming coughs, shook him awake with a start. He jolted and sat up, blinking for a moment as he looked at her before propelling himself to his feet and over to the head of the bed.

“Hey,” he said, placing a hand on Shannon’s back as he sat down beside her, supporting her as she wheezed and cleared her throat. “Hey, take it easy.” She held her head and groaned again, squeezing her eyes shut. His voice sounded muffled, and the feeling of his hand sent prickles along her back wherever there was contact. In spite of the pain, she would have rather there been the warmth and presence of another person than the absence of feeling entirely.

“Jeremy,” she whispered in a hoarse voice as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. They took you away in special shock restraints and then brought you back at least a couple of hours later. You were unconscious.” His gaze flicked to the floor momentarily. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it through the night.”

The dark circles under his eyes and the weight of concern on his face hit Shannon almost as hard as the words that had come out of his mouth. What did she remember? “I remember being taken away and led to an interrogation room. Then something about a High Inquisitor, and it all gets kind of fuzzy after that. I think…” She winced and grunted as the pain in her head surged. “I think… They think we’re with some major rebel cell. I don’t know what’s going on, but it can’t be good. We need to find a way to reach Jessica or _Babel_ or someone.”

Driven by a sudden burst of adrenaline, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet and took a step to start her pacing circuit around the cell. Barely through that first step, her balance gave out and the world started to spin. She staggered sideways. Jeremy stood up and reached out an arm, catching the commander as she tilted toward the concrete floor.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be standing up,” he said, sounding winded and looking a bit pale himself.

“I think best when I pace.” She tried to right herself on her feet again but ended up leaning back too far and having to grab onto the lieutenant’s arm so she didn’t fall over. “I’m… I’m fine.” Shannon winced again and leaned forward into his shoulder. “It’s just my head. I’ll be fine.”

“Shannon, would you sit down?” he said firmly through clenched teeth, quiet enough that her name wouldn’t carry beyond their cell. “I get that you want to do your job here, but giving orders is going to be a whole lot harder if you crack your head open on the floor.” He positioned himself to pick her up as he had the previous evening and carry her over to the bottom bunk. By the time he set her back down, he was winded again, and he took a seat beside her.

Both of them leaned back on their elbows and looked at one another. Shannon furrowed her brows. “What’s going on? Why are you so out of breath and why can’t I stand up?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I’d have guessed your troubles were tied to whatever it was they put you through last night…” his eyes glazed over for a brief second as his expression hardened. “If I’m not feeling right, too, it has to be something else.” Jeremy dropped his head back and called up and behind him, through the dividing wall between cells. “Hey, Li’im. Are you awake?”

“Li’im?” Shannon asked and Jeremy returned his gaze to her, taking his turn to wince at some unseen ache.

“Next-door neighbor. Actually with the resistance.”

Shuffling sounds carried faintly over to their side of the wall. “I am,” Li’im’s voice responded groggily. “Is your friend alright?”

“She’s alive and conscious, which is a relieving improvement over last night.” He gave Shannon a charming smile, in spite of his apparent discomfort. “How are you feeling this morning?”

Silence followed. Shannon leaned over and spoke in a low, quiet voice. “The more I think about this, the more… well, the more it hurts, but the more I think there might have been something in that blast. I don’t know what it could have been, but if--”

“I’ve felt better,” Li’im finally answered. “My head hurts and my stomach doesn’t feel right.”

“That sounds about right,” Jeremy said, the concern hidden from his voice but not from his face. “Any idea what could have caused it?”

Silence again. “Only speculation, I’m afraid. It could be any number of things.”

“Jeremy, nothing with symptoms like this has a happy ending,” Shannon continued speaking just to him. “We have to do something. If they can’t reach us and get us out of here--”

He rolled over and leaned on his side, taking her hand in his and squeezing it tight. “Listen here, Commander,” he said, bringing their heads close together so his voice couldn’t travel. “We’ve got a ship with a capable crew up there in orbit and a hardy trio here on the ground. Whatever has taken out comms is bound to either lift or be worked around sooner or later. We’ve got homing signals transmitting, so as soon as communications are back online, they can beam us out. They’re not going to leave without us. You know why?”

Shannon shook her head, watching him intently and focusing on the squeeze of her hand instead of the pain wracking her body.

“Because you’re a damn fine commander. You know why else?”

She shook her head again.

“Because most people are too intimidated by the Captain to approach him directly and would rather go through you.” He chanced a smile that doubled as Shannon tossed her head back and laughed.

“You really are something,” she said, feeling more whole than she had since they’d arrived at the detention facility. “I don’t know how you can manage humor at a time like this.” She smiled as she chastised him.

“You think I’m joking? That man is about as warm and welcoming as the idea of a picnic on Delta Vega.”

“Oh, come on, Raj isn’t that bad. He’s just… closed off.”

A loud bang cut off their conversation as a guard entered the cell block. “Get up, you lot, or miss breakfast.” He stopped at the other couple of occupied cells before making it to theirs. The large man waited impatiently outside the bars. “I’m not going to deliver it to your bed. Get up and come get it.”

Jeremy glanced at Shannon before getting shakily to his feet and walking over to the receiving slot where the guard shoved a tray through. As he turned his back to the guard, Jeremy looked down at the food and made a face back at Shannon. Resuming his seat beside her with an exhausted huff, he picked up a tined, concave utensil and stared at the brownish-gray slop on the tray.

“Well, it can’t be worse than my home cooking,” he said uncertainly. “Eat up, I guess.”


	17. Chapter 17

It had only been an hour, but Jessica had already reviewed the details of the prison site and made several revisions to the plan that the Resistance had put together. Gesturing to the center display screen showing the map of the prison, Jessica addressed the rest of the planning team. 

“There are large drainage lines here and here, which are unprotected except for a motion sensor grid, which we can disable by taking out this substation here.” 

“And here I thought you were some sort of journalist,” one of the Resistance agents said, looking over her plans.

“I worked in security for quite a while,” Jessica said quickly, trying to keep questions about her history to a minimum to preserve what little integrity she had left with respect to the Prime Directive. 

A woman roughly Jessica’s age spoke up next. “So we have our plan. Now when do we get to go pay these bastards back for killing my family?” Several of the others nodded or spoke up in agreement. The Church’s unprecedented attack on the protesters had become a rallying cry for the fledgling rebel network all across the planet, and the communications center had been busy nonstop since Jessica had arrived. The only two people in the room that didn’t seem driven by righteous anger were Ti’ana and Jakal, who traded somber looks with each other instead.

“We leave as soon as the team is ready,” Jakal said, stepping up to the center of the room. “We’ve made contact with our cell in the Selar district, and they’ll move to take out the substation. They don’t know anything more about the plan, so they can’t give away our position. Jessica will take a team to the southern entrance, and my team will attack from the north.”

The feeling in the room was electric as the team dispersed to make their preparations. As she started to leave, Jakal caught Jessica by the arm.

“I just wanted to thank you for what you’ve done for us. I hope that you’ll stick around after this mission and keep fighting the good fight. We could use someone with your skills.”

“I...” Jessica hesitated. “I want to help, I really do, but I don’t know. Right now, I just want to find my friends and make sure they’re alright.”

“Any luck finding them yet?”

She shook her head. “I’m going to take one last trip to the comms center, just in case.”

“Good luck. I sincerely hope they survived.”

Jakal walked out of the room, leaving her alone for a moment. Jessica leaned back against the wall and suddenly felt very heavy. Her stomach churned, and she very narrowly avoided spilling the entirety of the lunch she’d just eaten onto the floor. _What’s happening to me? It’s been a long day, but I feel like I haven’t slept in a week. My stomach hasn’t felt this bad since... well, since that party after Academy graduation, and_ that _was the Romulan ale’s fault._ She pulled herself together enough to walk to the communication center, trying to shake off the mystery illness and focus on the mission at hand.

The communication center was as busy as ever, but her status as the new arrival suddenly in charge of a major mission gave her enough celebrity clout to commandeer a small monitoring station. Making sure she wasn’t being watched, Jessica scanned through all of the standard Federation emergency broadcast bands, hoping desperately to find a signal from _Babel_ or somewhere on the surface. Just like the last time she’d checked, she found nothing. She sighed in frustration and was about to leave the console when a brief blip appeared on the screen and vanished just as quickly. 

“What the hell?” She leaned forward, checking the spot on the map where the blip had been. Sure enough, it lined up almost exactly with the location of the Moraga prison. The tension in her shoulders lifted, and the nagging worry was flushed away with determination. _They’re alive. Now I just need to go get them._


	18. Chapter 18

Whatever issues they may have had, the Resistance was certainly well-armed. Jessica checked the safety on her sidearm before holstering it on the outside of her right thigh. Next came her belt, which contained two primitive but effective looking concussion grenades and a small explosive charge, all of which the Resistance had stolen from a Church Authority convoy a month ago. The same raid had produced the rifle she carried. Like the sidearm, it was a ballistic weapon, but still quality craftsmanship, and as good as anything she was likely to find on this planet. Setting the gun down, she looked up at the other three members of her team, two men and a woman each looking over their gear as habitually as she had as the van made the last leg of its journey. In just a few short minutes, they’d be on the ground, hoping to catch the prison’s security staff off-guard and make their way inside through the drainage system, where they could gain quick access to the prison cells without storming the heavily defended entrances.

Convinced that her team and gear were as ready as they were going to be, Jessica checked the hastily assembled locator device she’d strapped to her arm. It wasn’t much more than a signal tracker mounted on a wristband, but she’d set it to track the strength of the Starfleet emergency signal she’d received from the prison. It was weak but had shown up two more times since they’d left the Resistance base. _Shannon, Jeremy, just hang in there. I’ll see you soon._ The van came to a halt, and the wiry young driver poked his head back toward the team.

“Power just went down, you’re up.”


	19. Chapter 19

Shannon sat on the bed and stared across the cell at the chipping paint on the wall. Jeremy sat beside her, his back slouched against the barrier between their cell and Li’im’s. The jail was silent, each inmate lost in their own thoughts. Shannon was the first to break the hour-long gap in discussion.

“So, if this is radiation sickness, we’ve got, what, maybe a week at most before it’s done so much damage to our bodies that they cease to function?” Her tone was as dry as her throat and her fixated gaze didn’t waver from the peeling wall.

Jeremy looked at her. “That’s a happy thought. What makes you so sure it’s radiation sickness? It could be any number of things.”

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him. “Could it?”

“The woman is right,” Li’im chimed in from the other cell, startling both Starfleet officers. “That was an antimatter bomb that went off in the square.”

Silence briefly followed before Jeremy blurted out, “what?” in disbelief.

“The blast was caused by a matter-antimatter reaction. Everyone at the front of the square should have died instantly. Those of us who were farther back have to deal with this unfortunate side-effect.” Li’im stated everything so matter-of-factly, it was as if she was giving a dissertation.

Shannon pulled her legs up onto the bed and turned to face Jeremy as she spoke, watching his expression, and he hers as they conversed with the woman on the other side of the prison cell wall. “That seems like a pretty handy way for the Church Authority to take out the protestors, but why would they sacrifice one of their buildings in the process? Why not just plant it in the middle of the crowd?”

“Because they didn’t plant the bomb.”

The two officers shared expressions of surprise, the swirling lines on their faces arching in twin shock.

“The bomb was staged by a rebel unit to make it look like the Church wanted us dead,” Li’im continued plainly. “Stir the sentiments of the undecided in favor of the helpless, and the tables will turn accordingly.”

Jeremy’s brows furrowed as his shock turned to anger. “You sacrificed your own people and countless others for a publicity stunt?”

“Oh, it wasn’t just me,” she said with an air of mild defense. “It was a joint effort. I am simply another part of the plan.”

“But that’s genoci-” Shannon doubled over mid-sentence, clutching her stomach, before turning her head to retch over the side of the bunk. The foul smell of bile and stomach acid filled her nose, and she coughed. As she rocked back into a sitting position, she felt the pressure of a hand on her back, rubbing in gentle circles. Jeremy’s expression was soft and concerned until he turned to glance back toward the wall, as if his gaze could pierce through it, sending all the anger and disgust along with it.

“Do you have any idea how many people were in that square when the bomb went off? They all supported your cause, and this is what you’ve done to them -- and to yourself.”

“Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good,” Li’im responded, eerily calm.

From somewhere outside the confines of the cell block, Shannon heard a commotion. She turned to Jeremy. “Do you hear that? It sounds like… A quake, or like someone is taking down walls.” She felt the bed rumble beneath her and her stomach lurched again. Clamping her eyes shut to stave off the wave of nausea, she reached out a hand and found Jeremy’s shoulder. “What’s going on?” She opened one eye and peeked out to see him shaking his head.

“Ah, so they have come to get me after all,” Li’im said, sounding noticeably chipper. “Now we can take our places among the ranks. The revolution has begun.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Go, go, go!” Jessica barked orders to her team as they charged through the freshly made hole in the prison wall. She stepped over the body of a guard who’d been unfortunate enough to be on the other side of the wall when the charge detonated, kicking his gun to the side as she scanned the room. The first minute after the breach was the most important in the entire operation, as it gave the infiltration team a critical window of time before any defenses could be organized. Having cleared the first room, the team dashed forward through the hallway. One of her men took the lead, taking out a pair of startled guards with a burst of fire before they could raise their own rifles in defense. Jessica followed immediately after him, checking the locator on her wrist to confirm what she knew from the prison blueprints. 

“Take the next left!”

The first man took up a position at the doorway, and Jessica took the other side, her remaining two Resistance agents waiting behind her. She nodded, and one of them stepped forward, kicking the door in with the strength of an ox. Without waiting to see what was on the other side, Jessica pulled the pin on a concussion grenade and threw it into the room, clapping her free hand over her ear. A second later, a sharp bang shook the room, and even on the other side of the wall with hearing protection, she couldn’t shake the ringing in her ears. 

The team entered the room cautiously and methodically disarmed the four Authority officers as they desperately tried to make sense of their situation. With the size of the room and the close proximity to the grenade, they would remain blind and disoriented for the next few minutes without aid. Jessica slammed the butt of her rifle into the side of one officer’s head, and he dropped unconscious. The rest of the team quickly dispatched the others in the same way. As she looked up at the security footage on the wall, Jessica heard an alarm klaxon begin. One of the monitors showed Jakal’s team making their way toward the prison cells. Jessica reached into her jacket and pulled out the small Moraga communicator she’d been given, and thumbed the input button.

“Jakal, you have guards coming from your right. Take the next left, then take the second right. You’ll need to deal with two contacts inside that room, then you should be clear to make your way to the target.”

 _“Acknowledged, thanks for the assist. See you there.”_

Putting the communicator back in her pocket, she turned around to face her team.

“Leave a concussion grenade in the hand of one of the guards, pin pulled. When their reinforcements get here, they’ll trigger it when they turn him over. That will give us time to get to the cells, free our people, and move to the extraction point. Any questions?”

The team shook their heads silently, and the young woman took a grenade from her belt and set up their trap. With the security observation room secured, Jessica took the lead, headed straight for the cells. As she expected, two squads of Authority guards had set up a defense perimeter at the cellblock, and she dove for cover behind a wall as soon as the first shots were fired. They were outnumbered and outgunned, but all they needed to do was keep the guards’ attention while Jakal’s team entered from the opposite side. _Still, I can’t fire blindly without running the risk of hitting one of the captives,_ she told herself. She took a quick breath, then leaned out from behind the wall to take a shot. She pulled the trigger and the rifled barked, and at the same time felt a sharp impact against her shoulder that nearly spun her around. Numbness flooded her arm as she ducked back around the wall, and a quick glance down at the red stain spreading across her sleeve told her she’d been shot even before the pain began. Her right arm useless in a gunfight, she dropped the rifle on its sling and awkwardly drew her sidearm with her left. More gunfire joined the chaos, and then all of the noise stopped.

“Clear!”

Jessica sighed in relief at the sound of Jakal’s voice. “Clear!” she shouted in response, waiting a moment for them to lower their weapons before she stepped out with the rest of her team. The rebel leader rushed up to her immediately, worry flooding his face.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Jessica winced as she tried to lift her arm. Now that the rush of the firefight was gone, her whole arm felt like it was on fire, and her head spun with dizziness.

“I’ve certainly felt better,” she managed. She lifted up her left wrist to check the locator, which was blinking rapidly when she pointed it to the nearest door. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

She was through the door before he could argue, and all of her nagging fears disappeared when she saw Shannon and Jeremy in the first cell. That worry came rushing back when she saw just how sickly and haggard they appeared.

Shannon was the first to recognize Jessica in all the madness, and she gave Jeremy a shove, turning him around. Both of them looked extremely weary, but the relief in their expressions was unmistakable. “You’re alive!” Jeremy shouted before wincing and clutching his stomach.

“Not for lack of trying,” Jessica said, careful not to add ‘Lieutenant’ at the end. “Let’s get you out of here.” Jakal stepped up to the command console near the entrance to the cellblock and used a guard’s ID to release the locks on the cells. With the doors open, Jessica watched as Shannon and Jeremy staggered into the room, leaning on each other for support. 

“What did they do to you?” she asked.

Shannon shook her head as frantically as her feeble body could manage. “Jessica, these people aren’t who you think they are.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whatever they’ve conned you into thinking is all wrong,” Jeremy interjected.

“They’re the ones who planted the bomb,” Shannon finished, her voice low enough to remain among the three of them. “It’s the radiation making us sick, more than anything.”

Jessica started to shake her head, to deny their accusations, but then the pieces started to fall into place. Jirala M’daran, Resistance agent, begging the Authority to let her and her child leave the scene at the square shortly before the bomb went off. The equipment she was carrying, stolen in a Resistance raid in preparation for a large scale revolution. A network of cells communicating their outrage and panic in response to the last straw, an attack on civilians by the Church Authority. And last of all, the look shared by Jakal and Ti’ana when the young rebel woman cried out to avenge her family’s deaths. Not a somber acknowledgment of pain and oppression, but one of guilt. A cold rage burned in her heart, and she blocked out all other thoughts and emotions as she crossed the cellblock to where Jakal was freeing an older woman. She leveled her sidearm at his head, and everyone in the room stopped.

“Is it true?”

“Jessica, what are you doing?” Jakal asked calmly, his hands at his side.

“Answer the question. Who really bombed the square?”

Jakal shifted uncomfortably. “Sometimes, progress requires sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? Is that what you call murder?” She took a step closer, her left arm shaking as she kept the gun trained on the man’s face. “How many people died for your _sacrifice_?”

“Don’t tell me you think the Authority was going to let them go,” Jakal spat. “Instead of dying like animals, they will live forever as martyrs as we free ourselves from the shackles of a government bent on keeping us under their control.”

“You don’t have the right to make that decision for them. You can die for your cause, but you don’t get to make that call for anyone but yourself.” Tears ran down her face as she stared down the man she’d put her trust in. “What about Callum? You promised me he’d be safe, but you knew he was dying already.” She pressed the gun hard against the man’s head as her whole body shook with adrenaline, pain, anger, and worsening radiation sickness. “Tell me right now why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand.”

Jakal said nothing. As her finger tightened on the trigger, Jessica’s vision blurred, and her surroundings shifted. The gun fell from her hand as she collapsed backward, and she felt a pair of arms lower her gently to the ground. 

“We have them, Chief,” came a woman’s voice, but the world around her was spinning too quickly for her to make sense of where she was.

“Good,” replied a gruff man’s voice. “Ensign Brahms, get us out of here, and tell the Doctor to standby for three patients, one seriously injured.

“Where...” She didn’t finish her thought before the blackness took her.


	21. Chapter 21

Although she didn’t remember passing out, when Shannon came to, it took a few blinks for her to realize that she was in sickbay back onboard the _Babel_. She sat up and looked around to see Jeremy already sitting up on a nearby biobed, talking to the doctor. Jessica was still lying down on another nearby bed. Aside from the four of them and a couple of other members of medical staff, sickbay was empty. She made eye contact with Jeremy and he sat up a little taller. He made a small gesture and the doctor turned around before excusing herself and coming over to where Shannon was sitting, casting a glance in Jessica’s direction on her way.

“It’s good to see you awake,” Doctor Dupont said, wearing a small smile. “How do you feel?”

“Exhausted,” was Shannon’s first thought. “The nausea is gone, but I feel like I haven’t slept in a week.”

“That sounds about right. It’ll take your body a little while to fully recover from the theta radiation, but at least the damage has stopped and the treatment is helping reverse what was already done.”

“I see Lieutenant Caldwell is already up,” she passed a relieved smile his way before looking at the only other patient in the room. “How is Lieutenant Barnes?”

“Doing well enough. She was in a state of shock when the shuttle beamed her aboard. While down on the surface, Lieutenant Barnes received a gunshot wound to her shoulder. Between that and the radiation sickness, I’m not surprised she’s taking longer to come around than the two of you did. Still,” she sighed, looking over at the unconscious security officer, “I expect she will be up within the hour. She’s a tough girl. I have no doubt she’ll be ready to go by morning.” Doctor Dupont angled her body to address both officers. “Once you two feel well enough to walk, you’re free to return to your quarters, but you are not to do anything strenuous for at least another twelve hours. Is that understood?” They nodded. “Good. Captain Murali has arranged for a debrief at 0900 hours. I will let him know you are both recovering well as of this evening.”

As the doctor retreated to her office, Jeremy got to his feet, bracing himself against the biobed before walking unsteadily over to Shannon. “Glad to see you up and moving, Commander.”

“The same to you, Lieutenant.” She smiled. “How long have you been up?”

“Only a few minutes. No more than ten. I think you had it worse than either of us. I’m about as surprised as I am relieved to see you bounce back so quickly.”

“Ah, it’ll take more than that to keep me down,” Shannon replied. Her body still ached from the vomiting, but she was feeling significantly better. “I’ll feel much better once Jessica comes to. I have no idea what she went through down there.”

“Neither do I, but I assume we’ll learn about it at tomorrow’s debrief.” He offered her an arm. “Do you want to try standing up? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to crawl back to my quarters if it means I can fall asleep in a real bed.”

Her body ached as Shannon got to her feet and stood in a wobbly upright stance, using the Lieutenant’s arm for support. She never imagined how much she’d miss the subtle, familiar hum of the starship beneath her feet. Shannon let go and took a few steps on her own, stopping once to catch herself on an empty biobed. She made it to the door without any further issues and led the way back to the upper decks.


	22. Chapter 22

The rest of the senior staff was already assembled in the conference room when Jessica entered. Every bone in her body ached with exhaustion, and her right arm still felt weak, but the lingering feeling of decay and sickness was gone, which was enough to keep her going for now. She took a seat at the long table between Lieutenants Caldwell and Naazt, the former flashing a quick smile at her. It had been a long two days, but she was determined to make things right before they left orbit.

“I’m glad you could join us, Lieutenant,” Captain Murali said from the head of the table, his look of concern a genuine one. “Doctor Dupont says she expects you to make a full recovery.”

Jessica nodded. “Thank you, sir. I just tried to do my best given the situation.”

“Yes, about that,” the captain started. “I’ve read the reports each of you submitted. I think it’s also important to let you know that the resistance movement has escalated into a state of civil war. I don’t believe any of you are directly responsible for what happened, but I do want to understand some of the decisions you made while on the surface, particularly yours, Lieutenant Barnes.”

Jessica wrung her hands nervously. “Captain, it wasn’t my intention to get involved at all. When we were separated during the attack, I ended up escaping imprisonment with the help of a Resistance agent. That’s how I ended up at their base, and how I found the equipment that helped me track the emergency signal the Commander sent out. The only way I had to get to them was to go along with the raid.”

“And at any point did you consider the implications of helping out this Resistance?” Raj asked. “The Prime Directive is clear on interference with other cultures.”

“I didn’t do anything that wasn’t already going to happen, and it was the only way to get our people back!” Jessica shouted. The rest of the room looked at her with a mixture of bewilderment and concern at her outburst, and she quickly sat back in her seat.

Raj’s face never changed, and he leaned in as he spoke, as calmly as ever. “Was it the only way, Lieutenant, or the quickest way? I appreciate your willingness to step up and put your life on the line to save your crew, but in doing so you unwittingly interfered in the cultural development of a pre-warp society, and aligned yourself with a group of people who had put you in your situation in the first place.”

“Sir, I didn’t know that they were behind the bombing. I-”

“You never wanted to know, Lieutenant. You took their word without any evidence, and it turned out to be a lie, one they used to enlist your aid in their revolution.”

Jessica slumped in her chair, frustrated and hurt. The people she’d looked to for support had betrayed her, and her foolishness had ended up helping a violent revolution, as well as exposing the Resistance operatives to the use of transporter technology, the consequences of which were still unclear.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she managed in a hoarse voice. “I... I just wanted to make sure my team was okay. What do we do now?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Lieutenant. We don’t do anything now. This isn’t our revolution to fight, nor is it our place to stop it.”

Jessica looked up at the captain in shock. “But, _I_ helped start it, based on a lie that thousands of people down there believe! Someone has to tell them!”

Raj shook his head. “And it is not the first time in history that a revolution was started based on falsehood, nor will it be the last. Wars like this have been fought in nearly every world in the Federation during their darker days, especially on Earth. Given what we’ve seen down there, the Moraga government is oppressive, manipulative, and run by fear. Maybe a revolution is exactly what they need before they can peacefully join the rest of the Quadrant, even if they must do terrible things to achieve it.”

“How can you say that?” Jessica snarled. “You didn’t see the people down there during the bombing. The dead, the dying... the children crying next to the bodies of parents who will never come back to them.”

“Every death is a tragedy, Jessica. This is exactly why we do not get involved.” Raj stood from the chair and nodded at the others. “I want _Babel_ ready to leave in four hours. Dismissed.”

As the senior staff filed out of the room, Jessica waited until she was alone with the Captain. He turned to face her as the door closed behind Commander O’Malley.

“Do you need something, Lieutenant?”

“I’m sorry for what happened down there, Captain. I understand why we don’t get involved, and I promise I didn’t do it intentionally.”

“I don’t doubt your word, but you didn’t wait just to apologize. What is it you need?”

“I need to go back to the surface, just for five minutes. I... I made a promise to someone, and I need to say goodbye.”


	23. Chapter 23

“Everything about this mission was a disaster,” Shannon said, swirling the clear crimson liquid in its squat glass.

“I wouldn’t say everything about it was a failure. We didn’t die of radiation poisoning. That seems like a pretty positive outcome to me.” Jeremy sipped his root beer, which had been served in a traditional-style chilled glass mug.

“Okay sure, we got out alive, but we nearly didn’t, and in the process, one of our crewmembers violated the Prime Directive in what might be the worst way possible.”

“What else was she supposed to do? They rescued her from the square and got her out alive. Following their lead was the only way she knew she could get to us.”

“She didn’t just follow their lead, Jeremy, she aided in the early stages of a civil war.” Shannon sampled a small taste of the sweet red beverage. “Not only that, but we exposed the Moraga to transporter technology. You heard the captain. There’s no way of knowing what kind of effects that will have.”

“Tell me honestly,” he said, sliding his glass to the side and leveling a direct look at Shannon. “Would you have acted differently if you’d been in Jessica’s shoes?”

“I-” The commander closed her mouth and looked away. “No, I can’t say for sure that I would have. I just don’t think the amount of help she gave them was necessary.”

“If she hadn’t helped them and given a little bit of guidance, do you think they’d have found us so soon?”

“Yes, I do!” Shannon shouted, turning a few heads at nearby tables. Ten-Forward wasn’t particularly crowded at this time of day. The lunch crowd had moved on, and the people lingering were either playing chess or having a casual conversation over drinks. Her outburst was by far the loudest sound the room had harbored in quite a while. She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “Yes, I do. These people clearly had enough resources and expertise to do plenty of damage on their own, and given that we were located right next to one of their key operatives, I have no doubt in my mind that they would have found us eventually.”

“Sure, _eventually_ ,” Jeremy emphasized. “You could barely stand up as it was, and I wasn’t far behind you. Who knows how much longer Jessica had before she would have taken that sharp downward turn that we did. If her rebel friends hadn’t disabled the electric field around our cell, the shuttle would have never found our signal.”

“People died down there. Hundreds of innocent people.”

“That wasn’t our fault.”

“But Starfleet is now responsible for aiding the group that is at fault. Don’t you understand the repercussions that could have on our crew -- on _me_?” Her voice came out as a tense hiss as Shannon resisted the urge to shout again. “I was supposed to be in charge of that away mission. Our objective was to observe and gather information. Instead, we got separated, nearly killed, and triggered the start of a large-scale revolution.”

“You can’t honestly believe anyone is going to make you take full responsibility for what happened down there. That’s-”

“That is precisely what I believe! Maybe you don’t understand the gravity of the situation, lieutenant, but everything that happened planetside was the result of my leadership. Lieutenant Barnes is a bit of a wild card, we all know that, but reports don’t take into account personality traits and wagered bets. All Starfleet is going to see is that a member of my away team apparently went rogue in desperation and violated the Prime Directive.”

“To _save you_.” It was Jeremy’s turn to raise his voice. Heads turned again before he could catch himself and keep the volume of their conversation at a reasonable level. “The only reason Jessica made the choices she did was to rescue both of us and get the entire away team back to the ship. Given the circumstances, she did the best that she could. Are you really going to hold the start of that revolution against her? If we hadn’t been down there, do you really think that rebellion wouldn’t have blossomed into a civil war? We didn’t give them weapons. We didn’t tell them how to attack and manipulate people. We did nothing but get in the way and then get back out of it. Violation or not, nothing that happened down there wasn’t already inevitable.”

Shannon glared at him before standing up. “Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree then, Lieutenant.” As she turned to walk away, he grabbed her sleeve.

“Hang on, we’re not leaving on that note.” The defensive tone had gone from his voice. “Sit back down.”

“You have no authority to give me commands.” She snatched her sleeve back.

“I’m not trying to. I’m asking as a friend.”

Still scowling, Shannon sat back down and took another, longer sip from her glass and coughed lightly. “What?” she asked, still sounding irritated but far less aggressive than she had before.

“Finish your drink, at least.” He downed another swig of his own. “I didn’t mean to start an argument.”

Lifting her glass again, she shot Jeremy an incredulous look over the rim.

“Alright, don’t believe me. We can have different stances on the subject. That’s fine. I just don’t want you to storm off thinking I’m just here to play the devil’s advocate. I see your side of things, and I understand your concerns. I just hope Starfleet takes other variables into account.”

Shannon sighed and set down her glass, swirling the remaining juice as she spoke. “So do I. I still stand by that I’m not cut out for command. This mission just kind of drove that home for me.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“You would say that.”

Jeremy laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re always so positive.” She looked up, the sudden shift in demeanor encouraging a reluctant smile of her own. “I feel like we could be sitting in the middle of a raging inferno and you’d still be able to find something encouraging to say.” Picking up her glass, she tipped it toward him. “You should be the ship’s counselor.”

“No way,” he said, shaking his head emphatically. “I deal with other people’s problems on my own time.”

This time, it was Shannon’s turn to laugh as she finished her drink and placed the empty glass down on the table. “Well, I won’t take up any more of it then. I’ve got a report to write up.” She got to her feet and let the smile that had been building spread across her face. “Have a good evening, Lieutenant.”

“Same to you, Commander.”


	24. Chapter 24

Jessica’s vision cleared as she materialized in the alley near the Resistance headquarters. Even hidden away like this, she could hear the sirens as Authority vehicles raced to the scene of one of the skirmishes spreading through the city. Gunfire could be heard in the distance, and she felt a pang of guilt as she heard the faint sound of someone screaming. 

“So it’s true, then. You’re not from our world.”

Startled, Jessica looked up to see Ti’ana watching her, holding the hand of a sickly young boy.

“Callum!” she shouted, rushing over to see him. His skin was pale, and his eyes were sunken. Jessica was no doctor, but it didn’t look like he had long to live at the rate the radiation was poisoning his body. The boy looked up at her but didn’t move or speak.

“Jakal told me what happened at the prison,” the older woman continued. “Why have you returned to us?”

“Please,” Jessica pleaded. “I can help him. I don’t want any part in your war. I only want to save him.”

Ti’ana stepped between Jessica and Callum. “You made yourself a part of this revolution when you aided us, and now you want to step away from it all? Did you think this would be a bloodless fight?”

“I never would have helped you if I had known.”

Ti’ana gave her a cold stare. “For two centuries, the Church has ruled our lives with an iron fist. They’ve beaten and killed dissenters, hoarded wealth and technology for themselves, and sought to control every aspect of our lives. Are the few thousand we’ve sacrificed not worth the billions we would liberate? Up there, where you watch us from above, we must seem so primitive to you. They want us to stay that way when we would reach for the stars to join you, and free our people to do the same. Can you not see what must be done?”

Jessica tried to keep her voice calm. “We... my people, we have a law preventing us from interfering in other cultures. We’ve made mistakes before, trying to do the right thing. I never should have gotten involved in the first place.”

“Your law then, it tells you to sit by and watch as corrupt people in power oppress their own people, all in the fear of making mistakes?”

“It’s... more complicated than that,” she said, still struggling with the Captain’s decision and her own mixed feelings.

“Then tell me, Jessica, why are you here?”

Jessica reached into her jacket slowly, keeping her posture as non-threatening as possible to show Ti’ana that she wasn’t drawing a weapon. She drew out a thin blue hypospray and held it up for the woman to see.

“This will help Callum,” she said. “Please, let me help him. Every second we wait is a greater risk to his life.”

“You can heal the radiation?” Ti’ana gasped, her eyes wide.

“Yes, in most cases. Please, let me see him.”

Ti’ana stepped aside, and Callum stumbled toward Jessica. His hazy grey eyes were holding back tears, and Jessica dropped to her knees as he clung to her in a tight hug.

“You promised you wouldn’t leave me,” he stammered.

“I know, Callum, I know. I’m sorry I was gone for so long. How do you feel?”

“I’m so tired.” His voice was weak, and his body was shaking. Jessica held out the hypospray for him to see. He looked at it skeptically before letting go of her. “What is that?”

“It’s medicine,” she said. “It’s going to make you feel better. It’s why I was gone for so long. Can you hold still for me?”

He nodded, and Jessica pressed the end of the hypospray against his neck and pressed the applicator button. The boy jumped in surprise as the antidote flooded into his system.

“There, all done,” she said. “It will still take some time before you start to heal, so I want you to get some rest, okay?”

“You’re going to leave me again, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Callum, but I can’t stay here. I need to go home, just like you do. I’ll miss you every day.”

They held each other tight, neither speaking a word. After a few minutes, Ti’ana spoke. “Callum has an aunt and uncle who live far from the city. I can give you my word that he’ll be taken care of, well away from our fighting.”

“Thank you, that means a lot to me,” Jessica said, letting the boy go.

“I won’t ask you to interfere in our fight, but that medicine of yours... it could save a lot of lives.” Ti’ana was the one pleading now, and Jessica could see that despite her actions, she really did want to protect people.

“I’m sorry. I broke enough of our laws returning here for Callum. I’ve done everything I can.”

The older woman nodded. “I’m sorry for the side of us you’ve seen so far, Jessica. I know we disagree on how this war should be fought, but I hope that someday when this is done, the Moraga people can show you the good we’ve done, and join you among the stars in peace.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Jessica said, stepping back into the alley. “And I hope that what you get is worth the cost.” She tapped her communicator and opened a line to the ship. “Barnes to _Babel_ , one to beam up.”

As she saw the awe in young Callum’s eyes as she began to dematerialize, Jessica was grateful that the transporter field hid the tears in her eyes.

  
  


**The adventures of the _USS Babel_ will continue...**


End file.
